SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State men's basketball dropped their fifth-straight game on Saturday, falling to crosstown rival Santa Clara 71-63 inside the Event Center.
Junior forward Michael Steadman had a career day, posting his second double-double of the season of 21 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as SJSU (1-5) finished the game shooting just 38.1 percent (24-63).
Santa Clara (1-4), who entered the game averaging 61.8 points per game, shot 46 percent from the field and hit 11 3-pointers, led by Tahj Eaddy's 6-for-9 performance from beyond the arc.
On paper, San Jose State saw an improvement in several key areas. The Spartans finished with just 11 turnovers after averaging 18.8 per game coming in and finished plus-15 in rebounding (45-30).
SJSU opened the game with a 9-2 run, but finished shooting just 38 percent (13-for-34) from the floor for the half. Steadman scored 15 of the Spartans' 35 points in the half to tie a career high on 7-of-11 shooting. The Broncos closed the half on a 6-0 run over 1:02 to take a 38-35 lead into the locker room.
Santa Clara outscored the Spartans 33-28 in the second half and shot 45.2 percent from the floor to SJSU's 37.9 percent. Noah Baumann drained a 3 with 4:16 remaining to make it a six-point game at 67-61, however that was a close as SJSU would get for the remainder as the Broncos scored a pair of field goals to close out the game.
LeCesne finished with 13 points, his fifth-straight game in double-digit scoring, while Baumann finished with 11 points and was 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Eaddy finished with a game-high 23 points to lead the Broncos.
The Spartans host Indiana State on Wednesday, the 28th, as the second of four-straight games inside the Event Center. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. PT.
